VietNam Holding Limited ("VNH" or the "Company")
Monthly Investor Report
A report detailing the activities of the Company for the month of December 2024 has been issued by Dynam Capital Limited, the investment manager of the Company. Electronic copies of the report have been made available to shareholders on the Company's website and a summary of the report is included below.
Manager Commentary: 2024 was a pivotal year for Vietnam
December 2024 proved to be another record-breaking month for Vietnam. Its economy showed robust growth, with GDP expanding by 7.09% in 2024 overall-much more than the expected 6.5%. This was mainly due to the country's resilient manufacturing sector amid unprecedented global challenges, from geopolitical uncertainties and extreme weather disruptions to rapid digital transformations and fast-changing stakeholder needs. 2024 also marked a notable improvement from the 5.05% growth recorded in 2023. Indeed, the fourth quarter alone in 2024 saw a 7.55% increase, the fastest quarterly expansion in over two years. The impressive economic growth momentum helped Vietnam shine bright compared with other nations in the region, and this is expected to continue in 2025 despite emerging external threats, such as the structured slowdown of China, a likely trade war sparked by US president Trump's tariffs and interconnected global interest rate and FX risks. Vietnam's government is aiming for 8.0% GDP growth this year with a strategic focus on increasing productivity. We believe its various policy initiatives coupled with renewed positive sentiment and investor demand will support stronger domestic consumption fuelled by disbursement of public investment.
December demonstrated how Vietnam continues to position itself as a modern industrialised nation with, for example, new criteria for high-tech investments having come into effect late in the month and AI technology champions feted by the country's corporate awards. We expect significant technological advancements in 2025 with Vietnamese banks and retailers already digitalising more but also with even greater foreign direct investment in related projects. For instance, Vietnam is awaiting the potential investment of US$1.5 bn from Elon Musk's SpaceX - for its Starlink satellite internet services. This will pave the way for more digital developments across the country and underline its significance as a key satellite internet market in Southeast Asia, offering SpaceX access to its increasingly tech-savvy population and expanding digital economy.
Additionally, public investment for 2024 reached a record US$26.5 bn and Ho Chi Minh City's first metro-line saw an encouraging mass adoption of over 1 million users in its first few weeks of operating. To round things off, Vietnam also beat Thailand in the final match of an international soccer championship, boding well for the country as the year of the dragon comes to an end and the snake edges closer. Vietnam's stock market mirrored the country's economic vigour with some notable infrastructure and corporate governance improvements in 2024, for example, with new amendments to the Securities Law. The revised legislation enhances market transparency and strengthens oversight against fraud, setting the stage for Vietnam's stock market to achieving emerging market status. There was also the implementation of Circular 68/2024/TT-BTC allowing foreign institutional investors to purchase shares without upfront payment in specific cases, raising even more optimism for 2025. Such advancements have boosted investor confidence and with anticipated earnings per share growth of >20%, the highest in ASEAN, analysts expect the stock market to continue this positive trajectory.
VNH also has reasons to celebrate having outperformed the index for all of 2024 and recording another year of strong Alpha generation, despite the 4.8% devaluation of the Vietnam Dong against the US dollar. The Fund won three investment awards in 2024, and it is worth noting that its share price has been trading at a premium to net asset value - one of a few country funds to do so. The Fund has been issuing new shares to meet investor demand - the first time a London-listed Vietnam-focused fund has done so for well over a decade.
As our chairman noted in a recent podcast episode with UK Investor Magazine, 'Leading the peer group in 2024 and the 2025 outlook', "We've got some great portfolio champions, but we're also on the lookout for some new rising stars to complement that, so we have a busy but exciting year ahead."
For more information please contact:
Dynam Capital Limited
Craig Martin Tel: +84 28 3827 7590
info@dynamcapital.com |www.dynamcapital.com
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited
Corporate Broker and Financial Advisor Tel: +44 20 7220 0500
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